Outbreak was helmed by renowned Das Boot director, Wolfgang Petersen, and also sports a very impressive cast, including Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr. (right before Jerry Maguire), Patrick Dempsey, Donald Sutherland, and Kevin Spacey (who starred in Se7en and The Usual Suspects the same year). Art Kellermann and Melinda Moore work at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit policy and decision-making institution. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. And it has no respect for a badge. Furthermore, once the infected monkey is caught, the cure for the virus is miraculously attained within days. In this movie, a virologist (Dustin Hoffman) is trying to stop a global biological meltdown. Assistant Policy Researcher; Ph.D. Rest assured, Matoba is so like Ebola in symptoms and effect, First, a little history on Ebola up through 2014, from Agata Blaszczak-Boxe at, The first reported outbreaks occurred in 1976. “Fear of the disease is widespread across West Africa,” Gidda wrote. Pause after reading the 'Common Source Outbreaks' section. If the first few cases are swiftly isolated and their contacts quarantined, an outbreak can be stopped in its tracks. Some of this is an inevitable byproduct of the painful choices governments must make in hard times. Divide into small groups. Taking that sick day could save lives. Outbreak . And with fear comes panic. Others said it was a form of witchcraft to combat the epidemic.”. ETHICAL DILEMMAS 3 Ethical Dilemmas Faced by the Characters in the Movie “Outbreak” The ethical dilemmas found in the classic 1995 movie “Outbreak” would be astronomical if these problems ever happened in real life. Recent budget cuts have forced local health departments in the U.S. to eliminate an estimated 29,000 jobs (about 19 percent of their workforce). So calm down about Ebola. Like most world struggles, we can choose not to see it, think about it, and to center our concern around ourselves, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Lots of people feel like … It wasn’t clear whether he had Ebola.”, And it’s not just Guinea, as Gidda warns. What Is the Cost of High-Quality Publicly Funded Pre-K? And it does it quickly. But the final truth of Outbreak is that while proficient in getting people justifiably terrified by the effects of Ebola, the chances of anyone (most likely Westerners) watching the film contacting the virus remain extremely slim. Along the way, secrets and politics threaten to destroy the whole operation, and take innocent lives while the protagonists race to find a cure. The movie "Contagion," released to coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, gave moviegoers an opportunity to consider what would happen if a really nasty germ went viral. Worst of all? The scene is entirely over the top, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility. He is a contributor at HeaveMedia.com, where he regularly writes about TV and pop culture. These movie questions are designed to accompany the thriller movie "Outbreak". Another successful, if slightly ludicrous scene in Outbreak finds a local family desperate to get out of the American town where the virus has erupted. Lesson Planet. If a virus is going to legitimately threaten your life, the last thing you’ll be doing is tweeting about it. Outbreak isn’t a perfect movie, but it is the perfect movie to talk about the way pop culture portrays viruses, specifically Ebola, and what that means the world’s new Ebola outbreak today. The movies in this list are real class apart. If anything, the virus represents a kind of “Super-Ebola,” making it that much more terrifying, while heightening the already heightened fears of the time. As great as this sounds, some feel that the choice to only employ ZMapp following a trial with two white Americans is emblematic of the WHO and other organizations’ failure to protect poorer countries from viruses like Ebola in equal measure. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. You would enjoy watching them greatly if you share my taste, learning objective & level of intellect. Germs don't care who carries them, or why. public health is political. The movie graphically depicts the rapid spread of illness, death and panic that would ensue. Once that happens, there is little that public health officials can do besides urging the public practice frequent hand-washing, proper cough etiquette and "social distancing" measures such as school closures and cancellation of large public events. This is another area where Outbreak proves to be eerily realistic. As Scott Bixby at The Daily Beast explains, “Although the Old Testament theory of epidemiology has weakened as humanity’s understanding of disease has grown, the species-wide fear of plague hasn’t, as the present public disquiet over the Ebola virus—now ratcheted up with the U.S. patients being brought to these shores—demonstrates.” Bixby goes on from there, warning, “No matter the reassurances of medical professionals, the public, who have seen movies like Outbreak and Contagion, fear the introduction of Ebola to America; of something disastrous happening; of it getting out.”, The reason this fear persists is because disease is so intangible. That’s all it does. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry has a history of declining to test medications for diseases of the tropical world, most of whose inhabitants cannot afford high prices… If possible, it should be distributed within clinical trials to determine the safety and efficiency of the medications. Unsurprisingly, numbers like that have just about everybody spooked. I’m a fan of scary stories. How they find the cure—and find it so rapidly—is also unrealistic. In reality, it would take months or years to manufacture such a cure, if one was even possible. It might as well be the middle ages, except for the convenience of hitching a ride on a metal tube flying from meal, to meal, to meal. That message is ill-suited to the realities of the coronavirus. That social media would spread rumors of a virus quicker than the virus would spread itself is logical. From Contagion to World War Z to 28 Days Later to 12 Monkeys , here are the lessons movies teach us about outbreaks . Rest assured, with social distancing in place, herd immunity building and collaborative work underway to develop treatments and a vaccine, all we have to do now is wait. The film, released on March 10, 1995, was a box-office success and Spacey won two awards for his performance. Stay home - and watch these awesome end-of-the-world flicks! Lessons from Camus’ The Plague . “Matoba” isn’t technically Ebola, except for that all intents and purposes, it is. That’s why some of the stronger scenes in, Bixby is not the only person to declare as much. From outbreak movie questions worksheets to outbreak movie sheet videos, quickly find teacher-reviewed educational resources. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19, caused by an H1N1 influenza virus, killed nearly a million Americans, and some 50 million to 100 million people worldwide. A rare killer virus from the African jungle has started an epidemic in a small northern California commu7nity. The movie opens with a sequence of an African village being decimated by a bomb, in a covert effort to prevent Matoba from spreading. “Matoba” isn’t technically Ebola, except for that all intents and purposes, it is. Moral lessons from coronavirus outbreak. And the climax, while not totally ineffective, takes place in a helicopter, too, seemingly just to convince people that, “If it’s going on in the air, it’s going to be more awesome!” In fact, the movie has a bit of a helicopter problem. It has no concept of time, or geography. In this viewing guide worksheet, students answer a set of 19 questions for part 1 of the movie, "Outbreak," then go on to answer 18 questions about part 2 and two "general" questions. At its worst, it’s a monster you don’t believe in until it’s too late. It is difficult to find any discussion about COVID-19 that does not mention … In 1995, The paranoia inherent in this sentiment is older than the science that validates it. LESSON PLAN Nature of an Epidemic OVERVIEW In this lesson students will explore key concepts in public health, such as the definitions of “epidemic” and “intervention” and criteria for national and international emergencies. To maintain the virus as a viable biological weapon, two U.S. Army officers, Donald McClintock and William Ford, destroy the camp where it was found after taking blood samples from the dying victims. The father of this family rides right up to a military blockade, so desperate to get out that he fires his gun at a helicopter.. The laboratory techniques, personnel and countermeasures needed to contain a bioterrorist attack aren't much different from those required to contain a natural-disease outbreak. But the decision to bypass the difficulties in finding a cure for the disease opens up a more interesting discussion. However, if you want to take a more Hollywood route to discussing Ebola, your best best is the 1995 film. It is worth considering the lessons the film taught. The virus has a 100% mortality rate. Over the past few months alone, Listeria-contaminated cantaloupes killed four times as many Americans as the number that died in the anthrax attacks of 2001. Samantha Elliot, Assistant Professor of Biology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, wrote about this in 2009. Many people assume this requires withholding medications in a control group, but this is not necessarily the case. Whitney Boatright 09/25/2007 . The idea that the very structure of humanity’s social fabric is what facilitates the spread of our most deadly foes is more terrifying than any knife-wielding maniac.”. The film starts off with a quote from renowned molecular biologist Joshua Lederberg, which reads, “The single biggest threat to man’s continued dominance on this planet is the virus.”, The paranoia inherent in this sentiment is older than the science that validates it. Which is to say that once a virus reaches home, then it becomes a priority, not before. The scene is gruesome, and the movie treats the infected village pretty shabbily. But where Outbreak succeeds in accurately painting the likely mayhem of an Ebola-ish flare-up in the U.S., some of its stylistic choices amidst the film’s two-hour runtime fall short. Read the lesson Disease Outbreak: Definition & Types as a class. Liberians told Gercama the mysterious poisoners could be trying to raise the death toll and so gain more international aid. Matoba only becomes a major concern for the military and the CDC when it arrives in America. Outbreak isn’t a perfect movie, but it is the perfect movie to talk about the way pop culture portrays viruses, specifically Ebola, and what that means the world’s new Ebola outbreak today. The Times’ Joshua A. Kirsch pointed out that the virus is trending on Twitter, prompting mass, if not unverified, concern. Bixby is not the only person to declare as much. Using the film Survivors, students will learn about the science of the Ebola virus, including the symptoms Social Lessons from Our Favorite Horror Movies. Get Free Access See Review. Motaba, a fictional virus which causes a deadly fever, is discovered in the African jungle in 1967. Last week, CNN’s Harriet A. Washington called for increased efforts to supply these African countries with unapproved, but potentially life-saving drugs. Find outbreak movie questions lesson plans and teaching resources. The virus is similar in appearance to the filoviruses. In what’s perhaps the only good piece of dialog from the pilot of, When viruses spread, fear spreads. Here's One Interpretation, China Has Lost the Philippines Despite Duterte's Best Efforts, Successes in the Fight Against Climate Change, Developing Strategies for Summer Learning, Improving Psychological Wellbeing and Work Outcomes in the UK, Helping Coastal Communities Plan for Climate Change, Getting to Know Military Caregivers and Their Needs. Subscribe to the weekly Policy Currents newsletter to receive updates on the issues that matter most. No health worker wants to intentionally deprive Africans of a needed drug. The movie depicts similarities to those of the Ebola outbreak of 1976. Besides the instance with the crazed father, there’s also an extended helicopter chase which feels out of whack. That’s why some of the stronger scenes in Outbreak are also the most graphic. These Lesson Plans have been designed to facilitate your use of the documentary film Outbreak: Anatomy of a plague, and the game Outbreak, in the secondary school History classroom. 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